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JT Juice 12-9 By Journal Times staff Awesomely bad, but catchy I watched "The 20 Most Awesomely Bad Songs of 2004" on VH1 today and now, horror of horrors, I can't get the chorus of "Some Girls Dance with Women" by erstwhile 'N Syncer JC Chasez out of my head. Someone please make it stop
Crowning these artist awards, Billboard named ZLG the #1 R&B/Hip Hop Label, #1 Mainstream Top 40 Label, #1 Rhythmic Top 40 Label, #1 Top 40 Tracks label, #1 Gospel Label, and #1 Digital Label -- as detailed in this week's brand new issue (cover date December 18th). In the R&R (Radio & Records) year-end results, ZLG was named #1 Label Overall, #1 Pop Label, #1 Rhythmic Label, #1 Urban Label, and #2 Urban AC Label. Barry Weiss, President/CEO of the Zomba Label Group says "This year was a great year in every respect for us. From new artists breaking like Ciara, Three Days Grace, Anthony Hamilton, and Eamon to the worldwide domination of Usher, we are extremely proud of our artists, their hard work and their achievements. It's been another sensational year for us at Zomba." Usher's 8 Grammy award nominations tied him with J Records artist Alicia Keys (second only to Kanye West's 12 nominations). Confessions, nominated for Album Of the Year and Best Contemporary R&B Album, is certified 8-times platinum in the U.S. alone, with sales nearly reaching 12-million worldwide. It has spent 5 weeks at #1 on the strength of a non-stop string of hit singles, three of which are nominated for Grammy awards: "Yeah!" featuring Lil' Jon & Ludacris (Record Of the Year, Best R&B Song, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration); "Burn" (Best Male R&B Vocal and Best R&B Song); and "My Boo" with Alicia Keys (Best R&B Song). "My Boo," released as a single the last week of August, was included on Confessions (Special Edition), the deluxe repackaged, redesigned, limited-edition version of the album -- which was named Billboard's #1 Pop Album and #1 R&B Album of 2004. The competitive Best Male R&B Vocal category of the Grammy awards is dominated by ZLG artists, as Usher's "Burn" finds him running against Jive's R. Kelly with "Happy People" (from his double-platinum Happy People/U Saved Me double-CD) and So So Def's Anthony Hamilton with "Charlene" (from his platinum album of 2003, Comin' From Where I'm From). Similarly, competition for the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration award matches "Yeah!" against the Jadakiss track "Why" featuring Anthony Hamilton, and the Kanye West track "All Fall Down" featuring Jive's Chicago songstress Syleena Johnson. In addition to the two Pop and R&B Album awards, Usher collected Billboard awards for #1 Pop Single ("Yeah!"), #1 Hot 100 Artist, #1 Billboard 200 Album Artist, #1 Hot 100 Airplay Single ("Yeah!"), #1 Mainstream Top 40 Artist, #1 Mainstream Top 40 Title ("Yeah!"), #1 Rhythmic Top 40 Artist, #1 Rhythmic Top 40 Title ("Yeah!"), #1 R&B Artist, and #1 R&B Albums Artist. R&R also named "Yeah!" as its #1 Rhythmic Track and #1 Urban Track of the year. R. Kelly was named Billboard's #1 R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter. Jive records artist Britney Spears, whose Greatest Hits: My Prerogative collection was released one month ago and has already sold over 4 million copies worldwide, received a Grammy nomination in the Best Dance Recording category for "Toxic." England's NME listed the song at #9 in the Best Tracks Of the Year wrap-up in their current year-end issue. "Toxic" was originally released on Britney's double-platinum 2003 album In the Zone. Another track from that album, "Me Against the Music" (featuring Madonna) was chosen by Billboard as the year's #1 Dance Single. LaFace Records group OutKast, whose 9-times platinum breakthrough album Speakerboxx/The Love Below generated 3 Grammy awards last year -- including Album Of the Year, Best Rap Album, and Best Urban/Alternative Performance (for "Hey Ya!") -- finished out this year as Billboard's #1 Duo/Group Artist, #1 Hot 100 Duo/Group Artist, #1 Billboard 200 Albums Duo/Group Artist, Digital Track, #1 R&B Duo/Group Artist, and #1 Digital Track (for "Hey Ya!"). LaFace Records artist Ciara's debut album Goodies was recently certified Platinum. The album is named for its title track and first hit single "Goodies" featuring Petey Pablo, which spent 7 weeks at #1 and was nominated for a Billboard Music Award as Rhythmic Top 40 Single. Ciara was also nominated as Female Hot 100 Artist and Female R&B Hip-Hop Artist of the Year. Ciara's current single, "1, 2 Step" featuring Missy Elliott, is racing up the top 10 Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. , Upcoming television performances for Ciara include "The Late Show with David Letterman" (Dec. 16th), and Dick Clark's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" (Dec. 31st). ZLG's Verity label captured nominations in three different categories of the Gospel Field, starting with Fred Hammond's "Celebrate (He Lives)" as Best Gospel Performance, from his album, Somethin' 'Bout Love. The latter was nominated as Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, a category that also includes Out the Box by Verity's Tonex. Finally, the veteran Washington, DC choir director Richard Smallwood's latest offering, The Praise and Worship Songs, was nominated as Best Traditional Soul Gospel. As 2004 draws to a close, 2005 is shaping up to be another banner year for the Zomba Label Group, with releases planned on the Jive, LaFace, Silvertone, So So Def, and Verity labels. Look for an exciting schedule of new albums from Back Street Boys, JC Chasez, American Minor, Eamon, Kirk Franklin, Buddy Guy, J-Kwon, R. Kelly, Donnie McClurkin, Pink, Reel Big Fish, Richard Smallwood, 3 Days Grace, 311, Tool, Wakefield, Rev. Hezekiah Walker, and Youngbloodz -- among others! The Zomba Label Group (ZLG) is one of the industry's most dynamic record companies, and its associated labels are comprised of Jive, LaFace, So So Def, Verity, Volcano, Violator Records, Fo Yo Soul and GospoCentric. These labels are home to a varied group of top entertainers, including 311, Backstreet Boys, Byron Cage, Ciara, Clipse, Jermaine Dupri, Eamon, Kirk Franklin, Buddy Guy, Anthony Hamilton, Fred Hammond, J-Kwon, Joe, Syleena Johnson, Kurt Carr, John P. Kee, Kelis, R. Kelly, Donnie McClurkin, Mystikal, Nivea, *NSYNC, OutKast, Petey Pablo, Pink, Britney Spears, Three Days Grace, Justin Timberlake, Tool, Usher, Rev. Hezekiah Walker, Weird Al Yankovic, and Youngbloodz.
'N SYNC star JC CHASEZ regretted attending the PHANTOM OF THE OPERA after-party in London on Monday (06DEC04) night, because he was embarrassingly underdressed. The pop hunk decided to fill a gap in his hectic schedule with a night out partying with the stars and movie-makers of JOEL SCHUMACHER's epic big screen production of the hit ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER stage musical. But Chasez - who's currently working on his new solo album with MADONNA's recording team - rued picking the glitzy bash as his choice of entertainment that night. He said in the midst of the merriment, "I feel a bit embarrassed. I'm so underdressed. If I had known all the guys were going to be in suits I wouldn't have come."
More performers and presenters have been announced for Spike TV's Video Game Awards. The event will air live on Spike on December 14 with Snoop Dogg as the host. Snoop also will perform on the show with Pharrell Williams, as will Sum 41, Ludacris and the reunited Motley Crue, who will do a "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Home Sweet Home" medley. Award presenters include JC Chasez, The Donnas, Fabolous, Tony Hawk, Lil' Jon & The Eastside Boyz, Lil' Wayne, Bam Margera, Giovanni Ribisi and Papa Roach.
Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Kelly Osbourne, Nicole Richie and Nicolette Sheridan were among those who caught LL Cool J's set at the sixth annual Motorola Hollywood holiday party benefiting Toys for Tots. Lance Bass, Rachel Hunter, Shane West, Shannon Elizabeth and Danny Masterson also attended the event Thursday at the Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre. ...
The Neptunes' Star Trak: Back on the right track — by Shaheem Reid, with interviews by Sway Calloway and Joseph Patel Roscoe P. Coldchain never dropped his album, the Clipse haven't been heard from in about a year and Kelis publicly denounced her label heads. Still, the Neptunes' Star Trak family is looking stronger than ever. The production duo finally have an MC whose superstar status rivals their own, and they potentially have another one waiting in the wings. Star Trak recruit Snoop Dogg has dropped one of the most beloved
singles of the year with the Neptunes-produced "Drop It Like
It's Hot," and his R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece
looks like it's going to be his highest-selling LP since his 1993
debut, Doggystyle. With the Neptunes kicking the right flava in his ear this year, he came over to their musical family and is dropping his debut, Already Platinum, in February. The album's first official single, "Like a Boss," is out now, as is a street cut with Jay-Z, the "I Ain't Heard of That" remix. Slim Thugger (who actually doesn't look too slim standing next to the gaunt D-O-Double-G), Snoop and the Neptunes were all at the Vibe Awards a few weeks ago in Santa Monica, California. You know we had to holla. Before the much-publicized brawl involving the G-Unit, Dr. Dre and a very wounded alleged assailant, the Star Trak family talked about putting their egos aside and thinking caps on to create studio synergy. Chad Hugo: Snooooooooop! MTV: You guys are so different, but the chemistry with the Neptunes and you, Snoop, has turned out to be something special. Snoop Dogg: We love what we do. Anytime you got two people who love the same thing, it don't matter where they come from, what they look like, what they grew up doing. It's about what they do now. We love the same feeling: making people happy off of what we do. We all connect with the same energy. We're all from the same cloth. We all fell from the same tree — bop! bop! bop! — like leaves, and we all just came together. MTV: A few months before you came over to the camp, Snoop, you were telling us that P. Diddy might be executive-producing your new album. What happened to that? MTV: Another guy that got down with you on the album, Snoop, is Justin Timberlake. You actually got him singing and cursing on "Signs." Who set up that collaboration? Was it you, Pharrell? Pharrell Williams: You could look at it like that if you wanted to, but who doesn't want to do a record with Snoop? He's a cool dude, he understands his direction, he understands where he wants to go. There's not nothing technical to this dude. It is easy and seamless, the way it is supposed to be when you make a record. We're here to have fun, man. We got to celebrate just being happy again. It ain't about the weed, it ain't about how much crack you sell or any of that. We make those kinds of records — I ain't going to stand here and lie to you, we got records like that coming out — but that is not what this album is about. This album is about celebrating how you can still be hard and have gangsterness to your swagger, but at the end of the day it was just about good R&B music. MTV: So let's talk about that. The album is called R&G (Rhythm and Gangsta): The Masterpiece. Explain how you came up with that. Snoop: The album is a combination of rhythm and blues, but it's got a little bit of gangster on top of it. I said, "Let me put them both together." Rhythm and Gangsta — R&G instead of R&B, and it is a masterpiece because you got all these great minds with my mind. We all came together with the same goal. When Pharrell heard a track with somebody [else] who produced something for me that was hot, he said, "That's a keeper. That's got to stay on the album." MTV: We're going to put you on the spot, Snoop. What is it like working with the Neptunes as opposed to working with Dr. Dre? Snoop: When I work with these guys right here, to be real with you, I feel comfortable like I am working with Dr. Dre. That is a high compliment because don't nobody really know how to produce Snoop Dogg — to give me that sound — but Dre and these guys. When I get down with them, we at the Grammys, we at the Vibe Awards, we everywhere! MTV: Star Trak now even has representation in the great state of Texas. Slim Thug: In Texas, the independent game is real big. I been holding it down since '98, doing mixtapes and doing independent records and making good money. I was seeing too much money to settle for what the labels were offering me in 2000. So I stayed grinding. MTV: The title of your album is a testament to your hustle game, right? Pharrell: We're getting ready to put that album out. It's incredible! MTV: We already heard from Snoop about what it's like for him to be in the lab with the Neptunes. How is the experience for you? Slim: I think it came together real well. Anyone who is familiar with Pharrell's music knows he can pretty much adapt to anything. [Before he worked with me] he just really asked me a lot of questions about where I'm from and got a good look at how my city was and how my state was. And at the same time, I still got Houston producers on my record to give it that Houston flavor. So I really feel like I am touching all angles of the game. MTV: Obviously in your region your appeal is not questioned. How do you plan on branching that out with the songs on your album? Slim: Well, I feel like they're crossover records 'cause that's my style, basically. I don't really just do the same Houston rap as far as talking about sippin' on syrup. Even though that's where I come from, I feel like when I rap, somebody on the West can feel me, somebody in New York can feel me, 'cause it's just real life. I'm saying it how it is. I just talk about being from the 'hood, getting money and being a hustler.
TV Guide list: 100 good ways to start an argument S ome of the choices are just ridiculous. Nearly 30 years of "Saturday Night Live," and the most memorable moments all come from the era after Belushi, Aykroyd, Murray and Radner? I don't think so. And when it comes to David Letterman's career, was the Velcro suit really more startling than the episode that was shot, in part, from the perspective of a monkey charging around the studio? What about the time he tried to deliver a fruit basket to NBC's new corporate owners at General Electric, only to be thrown out of the building -- on camera, of course -- by unsmiling security guards? And don't get me started on the ranking of TV Guide's "100 Memorable TV Moments." But let's do. Because it's just so absurd to see the climax of the televised Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954 (at which point red-baiting Sen. Joe McCarthy was asked "Have you no shame, sir?") rated as the 39th most memorable moment. In other words, one notch less memorable than the unscheduled appearance of Janet Jackson's right breast during halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII. And 15 steps below the final episode of "Newhart" in 1990. And 20 beneath President Bill Clinton's "I did not have sexual relations with that woman!" assertion in 1998. I'm all in a dither here, which might ordinarily mean I'm fixing to rip the stuffing out of TV Guide's list, and the five-part special that will air on cable's TV Land over the next five nights. But I can't really do that, because every list of the 100 Greatest Socket Wrenches or 6,000 Most Fabulous Places to Stub Your Toe is designed in part to make us dither. And though the show is far too glib to qualify as anything like cultural history, its guided tour of TV's biggest-ever money shots adds up to a substantial, if guilty, pleasure. Beyond the attempt to arrange such disparate moments by their supposed significance, the retrospective serves as a video scrapbook of popular culture. In the first moments of the first hour, scenes from the first "Miami Vice" take you right back to the mid-'80s in all its pastel-hued, Phil Collins-laced magnificence. But don't close your eyes, because here's shaggy-haired Bobby and Peter Brady, resplendent in their Hang 10 leisure wear, tossing the football that will transform Marcia's perfect nose into a swollen, bright red lesson in humility. Nineteen years later here's bald, angry Sinead O'Connor tearing up the pope -- and her career, as it turned out -- on "SNL." To see them again is to remember instantly where you saw them the first time around, who you were with and what its significance seemed to be then, versus what it so obviously means now. In most cases, the answer to that last question turns out to be: Not a lot. Except, perhaps when it comes to the news coverage. Even now, it's shocking to see the video (seen live on Nov. 24, 1963) of Jack Ruby leaping from the shadows of a parking garage to shoot John F. Kennedy assailant Lee Harvey Oswald in the stomach. Footage of the Watergate hearings, and then Richard Nixon's "I am not a crook" speech and final farewell at the helicopter door, pack a different kind of punch. And it's still impossible to be unmoved by the lone student who stood before the column of Chinese tanks in Tiananmen Square in 1989. I don't even need to describe the ongoing impact of the images of Sept. 11, 2001, which take the lead spot on TV Guide's list. At its best, TV news coverage puts a vividly human face on earth-shattering events. Meanwhile, the medium's dramas and comedies do precisely the same thing, only within the strictly mediated terms of popular dramatics. "Roots," for example, put a human face on the savage practice of slavery. "All in the Family" used the Bunker family to reveal the many casual prejudices that continued to define American society in the early '70s. The wedding of Luke and Laura on "General Hospital" in 1981 showed . . . showed . . . um. Actually, I'm going to have to get back to you on that one. Naturally, TV Guide provides its own corps of participants, critics and B-list commentators to explain the significance of each segment. And while you might wonder why you need N' Sync's Lance Bass or human Muppet Bruce Vilanch to explain the world to you, others actually manage to be amusing, if not always insightful. At times they even manage to pose bracing questions, though not always on purpose. For instance, why does Mary Tyler Moore's face look smoother now than it did in 1975? Similarly, when did the real Bruce Jenner get replaced by a plasticine puppet? You can talk about this stuff forever, which is the real point. My favorite moment in all the shows was one I didn't even know existed. Everyone knows about the guy who ran naked across the stage of the 1974 Academy Awards. But did you know that, once reunited with his clothes, he was invited backstage to take questions along with all the presenters and winners? Amazing. But then again, maybe not. After all, he was famous. I mean, come on. He'd been on TV!
A woman known as "the pope's DJ" had this advice for Catholic youth ministers meeting in Pittsburgh: Never, no matter how much you loathe rap or country, criticize a musician a teenager likes. "It's not our responsibility as church people to put down other people," said Anna Scally, who brought her message to 77,000 young people at Pope John Paul II's 1993 World Youth Day in Denver. Scally spoke at the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry, where earlier in the day 2,500 Catholic youth ministers prayed, clapped and even stomped through morning worship in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center's largest hall. Scally noted that teenagers typically spend 3 1/2 hours a day listening to music. "Compare that to the one hour each week they spend in religion class," she said. "I believe the church has everything that young people are looking for. But sometimes that gets lost in translation." Only about 15 percent of popular music endorses values that are opposed to Christianity, and even those songs can be used to teach Catholic values, she said. Each year her California-based Cornerstone Media compiles two lists of 12 songs with the best and worst values. She played a selection from her 2003 Dirty Dozen -- Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body." "He's convinced that if he can just get the girl to dance with him, it will turn into an entire night of sex," she said. "In fact, he thinks he will have all her clothes off by the end of the song." But her audience agreed they could use that song to teach moral values."Then why are we sometimes giving workshops telling kids what to watch and what to listen to?" she asked. "What we need is to help them interpret it." The No. 1 song on her 2003 positive countdown was the hip-hop "Where Is the Love?" by Black-eyed Peas. And Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful," she said, "should be the church's theme song to our young people." If youth leaders talk with teens about what these songs mean in light of Catholic teaching, "they will put on their headphones and hear the voice of God because you have pointed them in that direction," she said. Her Web site, www.cornerstonemedia.org, sells CD's that link popular songs to scripture. But youth groups should compile their own countdowns, she said.
Realizing that Jessica Simpson's holiday offering, Rejoice: The Christmas Album, is in a category all by itself, there were still more contenders than one column could contain. When you must pass on Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to the Moody Blues, things are amazingly bleak in the world of music. Here's but a few that made my heart skip a terrifying beat more than any scene from "The Grudge." Britney Spears getting hitched twice in one year was far more interesting than her lame cover of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" for a reason: Her music is merely the caboose in that coming train wreck of a career. Ashlee Simpson, Autobiography (Geffen). Nepotism in the form of rotten eggs. American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics (RCA): In which the most pathetic lineup of finalists yet slumped toward victory butchering Aretha, Otis, Marvin, Gladys, Stevie and Smokey -- none more so than contestant Matt Rogers, who somehow made Michael Bolton look sincere. For something that beat "American Idol" at its own bland-inducing game came Oprah's Pop Star Challenge: 2004 Cast Album (Epic) -- and that would be the arm cast you'll get from the overzealous chucking this one deserves. The Ten Tenors, Larger Than Life (Rhino). With bloated, pompous covers of Queen and Abba, this crossover Aussie group made one wish the continent were still a penal colony. Minnie Driver, Everything I've Got in My Pocket (Zoe): Let's see, that would be a tuner, chord cheat sheet, rhyming dictionary, SoundScan sales figures for albums by Russell Crowe and Billy Bob Thornton. . . .
Skrape, Up the Dose (RCA). These Florida nue-metal lunk-heads provide endless howls thanks to the CD art, wherein band members undergo torturous-looking medical procedures. Say aargh! Two Vegas acts not worth the gamble: On A New Day . . . Live in Las Vegas (Epic), Celine Dion brings a whole new level of cheese to the town, which is pretty hard to do. And pretty funny, given her cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish," replete with the line, "Looking back on when I was a little nappy-headed boy." For a close second, try The Harem World Tour: Live from Las Vegas (Angel/EMI), Sarah Brightman's operatic spectacle best summed up by her reading of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," i.e, a lighter shade of milquetoast. WWE Originals (Columbia). Wrestlers head-locking to metal music is one thing. Belting their own ringside anthems -- from pallid rap and rock to embarrassing dance mixes and ballads -- is another, as these World Wrestling Entertainment hulks and hulk-esses become 90 lb. weaklings behind a microphone. A foul collection that deserves the Tongan death grip. In a lame attempt to keep up with his 'N Sync pal Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez released his own solo record, Schizophrenic (Jive), when he should have tried going to outer space with Lance Bass instead. Muddled tracks such as "Some Girls (Dance with Women)" and the '80s synth stylings of "All Day Long I Dream About Sex" are about as titillating as late night television static. Further points deducted for sampling Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night." Even help from Basement Jaxx couldn't save this one. On Endangered Species (Republic/Universal), the band is Flaw, the music Awfl. With its plodding cover of Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" on Recoil (Lava), metal act Nonpoint confirms that drum circles are best left on the beach. Speaking of Phil Collins, the former Genesis drummer becomes the apocalyptic balladeer on the two-CD (!) set Love Songs: A Compilation . . . Old and New (Atlantic/Rhino). If the reappearance of "Groovy Kind of Love" isn't a bellwether of the end times, I don't know what is. The Very Best of Macy Gray (Epic): Since when does any artist three records into a pop career deserve a "best of" collection? Could her label be telling her something? A Cinderella Story (Hollywood) was the soundtrack equivalent of an unresponsive pumpkin if for nothing else than the wretched Hilary and Haylie Duff stab at "Our Lips Are Sealed" (wired shut would have been preferable). As for Hilary, the 17-year-old pop pillow also attempted to "rawk out" on her eponymous sophomore album (the sound of one hand clapping would have made a better backbeat). Duran Duran, Astronaut (Epic): This comeback album of insidious pop rock rendered the '80s MTV icons as on-the-dole Brit uncles to the Backstreet Boys. Lenny Kravitz, Baptism (Virgin). Minister of rock and roll, indeed. More like the derivative star at his most bromidic. Funeral rites to follow. Most painfully prolific label? L.A.'s Vitamin Records, which continued its stunningly misguided string of string quartet tributes. With no sense of irony, the titles pretty much say all that needs to be said: The String Quartet Tribute to Creed; Strings for the Deaf: The String Quartet Tribute to Queens of the Stone Age; Break Stuff: The String Quartet Tribute to Limp Bizkit; and, saving the best for last, The String Quartet Tribute to Clay Aiken. A ridiculous concept with no end in sight, other Vitamin releases this year included The Lounge Below: A Tribute to OutKast (the highlight being "Ms. Jackson" imagined as, gulp, the Darkness fronted by Tito Puente) and The Symphonic Tribute to Prince's Purple Rain, which came off more like "singing in the purple rain" (the Hawaiian lap guitar on "The Beautiful Ones" has to be heard to be believed). Those in need of musical fruitcake, look no further. Finally, the worst lyric of the year came from Asian star Utada's English-market crossover, Exodus (Island). Everyone sing along: "You're easy breezy, and I'm Japaneesy." And on that note, who dares weep for the recording industry?
The pop heartthrob, who is currently carving out a Hollywood film career, is believed to have landed the role of alcoholic billionaire Tony Stark, who becomes a superhero after inventing an iron super-suit. Movie icon Tom Cruise had previously expressed an interest in the role. The movie will be directed by Nick Cassevetes, who is currently working with Justin on the film 'Alpha Dog', in which Justin plays a foul-mouthed drug dealer. The movie - which also stars Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone - is based on the true life story of drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood, who was suspected of kidnapping and killing a 15-year-boy in 2000. Justin will reportedly play Hollywood's pot-selling friend - and sources recently claimed his bosses are worried the gritty role will affect his pin-up reputation. Justin won the role after impressing movie bosses with his film debut, 'Edison', in which he plays a young journalist, aided by an older reporter played by Morgan Freeman, who uncovers corruption in a specialised police squad.
By Alli Vail “They’ve just started to arrive,” said Bruce Matthews, the volunteer and onsite coordinator for Eagle Watch, about the eagles. The Squamish Valley is considered the largest feeding ground for bald eagles in the world, he said. He expects 4,000 to 5,000 eagles this year. Eagle Watch is made up of volunteers who spend three-hour shifts on Saturdays and Sundays at Eagle Run once eagle season starts. They man scopes, talk to people about the eagles and answer questions. “We have people who are totally addicted to the eagles,” Matthews said. “They’ve come and the eagles have stolen their soul.” Girl Guides, families, singles and couples all get involved with Eagle Watch. “It’s a great volunteer experience, especially for moms, dads and the kids,” Matthews said. Matthews is very passionate about the value eagles have in nature. “It’s the greatest ambassador for the circle of life.” He said caring about eagles means you care about keeping the water and air clean and the trees healthy because the eagle needs clean air to fly in, salmon to eat and big trees to roost in. The Eagle Watch volunteers also talk about eagle ethics, which involve things like explaining why people shouldn’t disturb the eagles. “It has to consume one tenth its body weight in food in order to survive the night,” Matthews said. When an eagle is startled and takes flight, it burns calories, and in winter food can often be hard to come by. The economic and tourism benefits the eagles bring to the area cannot be overlooked. “The eagles make people stop,” Matthews said. The Eagle Watch volunteers count the number of people on the dyke and Matthews estimated there were over 8,000 people on Eagle Run in Brackendale during Eagle season, which runs from late November to early February. Often, the volunteers direct the tourists to local restaurants and shops. “Squamish hasn’t clicked that they are our pot of gold in the winter,” he said. “I think they are a fabulous resource for our community.” Big name tourists sometimes drop by for a visit too. Last year Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz visited the eagles — and Matthews didn’t recognize them. “They just looked like ski bums,” he said. Eagle Watch has a new project coordinator this year. Amy Hazeldine, who has a background in environmental education, is working behind the scenes. Her goal is to attract more people and volunteers and to increase awareness and education about the eagles. “I think we have a responsibility to respect and protect the eagles,” she said. “I think they are absolutely phenomenal creatures.”
I would really call myself a rocker rather than a teenybopper, but 'Schizophrenic' is a potent and heady mixture of New Wave, Latin rhythms, soul, r'n'b and reggae. There is such variety in the tracks, good mixing and engineering work, and Chasez's voice is amazingly versatile, covering a wide range of vocal styles. I was surprised to read a recent review that slammed the record in comparison it to Timberlake's. I say 'Stuff that!' because even if the mention of pop music makes you cover your eyes and run away screaming then just give this a whirl. You may of heard Chasez's vocal contribution with Basement Jaxx on Plug It In, and they return the favour on the bump and grind of Shake It, an excellent track ripe for a club mix. Some Girls (Dance With Women) is another bangin' club track with a rather rude and nasty lyric set to a skittery dance beat. All Day Long I Dream About Sex is lyrically a load of pap, but is a slice of pure 80's New Order synthesised bliss. Something Special is a beautiful soulful, breezy sing along and Dear Goodbye has some Latin-tinged classical guitar. Everything You Want is an unexpected turn, with a pounding reggae beat. Build My World and Lose Myself are the two obligatory ballads on the record, and definitely do not disappoint - truly stunning. An excellent album all round - the production, vocal work and lyrics (Chasez co-wrote all 15 tracks) are all top notch. Give it a go, you might be pleasantly surprised as you find your toe tapping and hips starting to wiggle. Lauren Boxhall
Justin Timberlake is baffled by his tabloid nickname "Trousersnake", insisting he has no idea what the moniker means. The 'N Sync singer was labelled Trousersnake by the British press after he was romantically linked to a string of beauties following his high-profile split from Britney Spears in March 2002. Despite settling down with Cameron Diaz last year, newspapers continue to run stories featuring Timberlake and other women. When asked by a Los Angeles radio station about his name, Timberlake says: "I hate it. It started in the UK and took on a life of its own. I'm still not sure what it means."
For The Record John Mayer will perform an acoustic set for Musicians on Call's inaugural fund-raiser. The event, to be held at Sotheby's in New York on January 31, will also feature an auction of autographed guitars from Mayer, Avril Lavigne, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Dave Matthews, Elvis Costello, Hanson, No Doubt and Slash. Other autographed memorabilia to be auctioned off includes a miniature piano from Alicia Keys and a basketball from Justin Timberlake. Musicians on Call was founded in 1999 with the mission of bringing live and recorded music to the bedsides of people in health-care facilities.
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